A bill promoted by Ceasefire Oregon to ban many semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity gun magazines generated a national outcry over the weekend from angry pro-gun activists.

Even Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, the c hief sponsor of House Bill 3200, said the bill as introduced goes too far in not only banning the sale of these weapons but in limiting each gun owner to continue possessing just one of these firearms.

Greenlick said he also disagrees with a provision that would allow the state police to investigate gun owners who possess one of these weapons to make sure they are safely stored.

"In its current form, it's a pretty flawed bill," said Greenlick, adding that "I don't think [the bill] is in play."

Penny Okamoto, executive director of Ceasefire Oregon, said she thought the bill could still gain a favorable hearing at the Legislature because of public anger with gun violence in the wake of the shootings at Newtown, Conn. and the Clackamas Mall.

"I think legislators are really going to hear from the majority of Oregonians who want an assault weapons ban," she said.

At this point, legislators are hearing an outpouring of criticism for HB 3200 from opponents of gun control. Greenlick said he was peppered with as many as 1,000 emails over the weekend criticizing him and the bill.

Several conservative web sites from around the country have portrayed the bill harshly, and some have also left the casual reader with the impression it is close to becoming law.

"Oregon drafts invasive gun law," was the headline over a story on Breitbart.com, a popular conservative web site. It went on to describe the bill as giving the government the power to confiscate guns since no one would allow to keep more than one of these guns or three magazines containing more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Kevin Starrett, executive director of the Oregon Firearms Federation, helped stoke concern about the bill by sending out an email alert Friday just after it was introduced stating:

HB 3200 not only bans most modern guns and magazines, it allows warrantless searches of your home, requires background checks and registration for a firearm you already own and as-of-yet undefined storage requirements. We say a firearm because even if you comply with the restrictions in this bill you may still only own one.

"It's more extreme than what I expected" when the bill was still in the concept stage, said Starrett. He argued that most pistols and rifles sold in the country now are semi-automatics and would fall under the proposed ban.

Okamoto said that her group believed that gun owners didn't need the guns covered by HB 3200 for such purposes as hunting and self defense. And she argued that gun owners who kept one of the guns under the proposed ban in the bill would be "agreeing to allow this search."

Greenlick said he would want to greatly amend the bill if it started to move through the process. For now, he said, it's mostly stimulating debate.

"It's not where they [most legislators] want to go and it's not where I think we're going to go," said Greenlick, "but it's where we should be going."

"In its current form, it's a pretty flawed bill," said Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, the chief sponsor of House Bill 3200, "Creates crime of unlawful possession or transfer of assault weapon or large capacity magazine."

In it's current form, the text runs three (yes, 3) pages.

What in the world? Are these people just stupid, lazy or so used to outsourcing their work to staffers they've forgotten how to do anything? He should be thrown out of the Oregon House for malfeasance.

How many of us would turn work into our bosses and declare "it's a pretty flawed piece of work, but I thought you should have it anyway"?

He's also a lying sack of shee-it. He knew exactly what he introduced in his three pages and now he's forced to walk it back after conservatives shone some disinfecting sunlight on it.

At least he was smart enough to NOT say "You'll have to pass it to see what's in it."

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